


i can't count the reasons i should stay

by raazberry



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternating Timelines, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, eternal sunshine au, it's a little weird i'm sorry, trobedison bestieism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:08:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29401737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raazberry/pseuds/raazberry
Summary: “I’m Troy.”“Abed.”“I feel like we’ve met before,”“Maybe in a different timeline,” Abed smirks.
Relationships: Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 9
Kudos: 29





	i can't count the reasons i should stay

It’d been two months since Troy started working at the bookstore. It was a nice job. A little boring, but it was… okay. He was content. Annie and Britta had been popping over at lunch time every other day, and it was fun. They’d tell him about their day, how much Britta wanted to kill this annoying customer, and Annie would help him with the books and tell him what to recommend people.

Again, it was nice.

But something felt off. Troy wasn’t sure what. He’d feel this weird feeling whenever he’d look at the Batman comics section, like something was missing, but he’d never be able to find any relative faults in the bookshelves.

Whatever. Maybe Annie was right, he was just bored and his mind was trying to engage him in something so that’d be less bored.

But still? Why did he feel so weird whenever he’d see a TV? Had he somehow developed an aversion to televisions since he’d started working at a bookstore? Huh. Maybe this place was bad for him.

He still didn’t want to leave, though.

#

“The procedure can’t be undone,” the doctor warns.

Abed nods. He would cry, but it felt like his tear ducts had been sewn shut. So he doesn’t. He avoids making eye contact with the doctor, who gives him a perplexed look.

“Mr. Nadir, are you being coerced into this?”

“No.”

“Is your partner aware that you’re undergoing this procedure?”

“Yes,” Abed lies.

#

Before he leaves to go back home, Troy goes to the comics section of the bookstore again, looking at the DC comics with curiosity and irritation in his eyes. If only he could figure out whatever the hell it was that felt so off about this.

Was it the order? All the issues seemed to be placed correctly, the colour scheme was pretty cool, everything was fine. God. He felt like tearing apart the entire bookstore because he couldn’t figure this feeling out.

But before he could do that, a lanky guy in a cardigan walks through the doors, and heads straight towards where Troy was standing. _He looks familiar_ , he thinks.

“Can I help you, sir?”

The man fidgets with his sleeves. “I’m alright, thanks.”

Troy leaves him alone.

#

“What do you mean Abed _erased_ me?”

“He doesn’t remember you, Troy. Anything about you.”

Troy shakes his head in disbelief. Jeff had to be kidding, right? It was a cruel, terrible joke— but a joke, right?

“Troy, I’m serious,” Jeff responds, as if Troy had said that out loud. Maybe he had.

“He- He can’t,” Troy shakes his head. “You have to stop him, right? I mean, this, this is _Abed_.”

Jeff looks at his hands. “You can’t stop him.”

“Why not?”

“He had the procedure done this morning. I, I was supposed to tell you to not maintain any sort of contact with him, because, legally speaking—“

“Abed erased me.” Troy states, tears forming in his eyes. He fidgets nervously with his hands, wondering what to do with them.

#

Annie tells Troy that Britta wouldn’t be able to make it to lunch today, so Troy suggests that they go out to the café that’s two shops away from theirs.

“Any cute customers lately?”

Troy laughs. “What do you mean ‘cute’? They’re all nerds. You can buy books on Amazon. Coming all the way to a bookstore is just nerdy.”

Annie looks half-offended, half-amused. “But these nerds are the reason why you still have a job, Troy.”

He looks confused for a second, then rolls his eyes. “Still nerds.”

Annie gasps.

“There _is_ a cute customer.” Troy states, in response to Annie’s previous question. Her offended expression is now one of delight.

“There’s this, guy… he comes in every single day, like, right when I’m about to leave, and we don’t really say anything to each other but like we’re there,”

“Like an unspoken agreement!” Annie swoons.

“Sure,” Troy takes a sip from his cold hot chocolate. “Anyway, I don’t know how to talk to him? He’s just staring at the comics section all day, and whenever I try to ask him if he needs help, or recommendations, he says no. But he doesn’t like it when I leave, either.”

“How do you know that?”

“I don’t know,” Troy confesses. “I just do.”

#

“You’re leaving,” Abed remarks. “Me. You’re leaving me.”

“Abed, I’ll be back, I swear,” Troy holds both of Abed’s hands. “I have to do this.”

“I don’t want you to leave.”

“I don’t want to go either, but I have to, Abed, you know that I’m not leaving you right? I’m just leaving. Not leaving you. There’s a difference.”

“Not to me. Not when it’s you.”

“You can still talk to me, I need you to know that I’m not leaving you, I’m always going to be here, Abed-“

Abed doesn’t say anything. He just squeezes Troy’s hands.

#

“Who’s your favourite character?’

“Hm?”

Troy clears his throat. “DC. I like the, uh, comics too.”

The man smiles at him. “I like the films better. Also, Batman.”

“No way! Me too.” Troy smiles back. “I’m Troy.”

“Abed.”

“I feel like we’ve met before,”

“Maybe in a different timeline.” Abed smirks.

#

Annie smiles at Abed. She feels special. Troy and Abed kissed, and she’s the first person they’re telling. She actually thought that they’d been dating for months now, and everyone knew, but apparently not.

“This doesn’t make you feel weird, right?”

She gives them an offended look. “Why would it?”

“You live with us. Also, Abed kissed you once. And, you had a crush on me for a very long time.”

“It’s a classic example of a love triangle,” Abed adds.

Annie turns a little red. “Nuh-uh, guys, I’m so happy for you! Also. Since we’re, you know, sharing…”

“You’re gay?” Troy and Abed ask at the same time.

She gasps. “How did you know?”

“Context.” Abed states, nodding.

#

“You should give me your number,” Abed says, at 10 PM, an hour after Troy should’ve closed the bookstore. Troy recites his phone number to him.

“That’s weird,” Abed remarks.

“What is?”

“I already have your number.”

“Huh.” Troy looks confused.

Abed brushes it off. “Let me give you mine. It’s 870-“

Troy pretends to not notice that his phone auto-completes phone number, and shows that the number belongs to “Abed <3”.

#

Annie wakes up at 12 PM to the sound of her phone’s notifications going off.

Troy: _i got that guy’s number!_

Troy: _the cute guy_

Troy: _!!!!!!!!!_

Troy: _are you sleeping?_

Troy: _sorry if you are_

Troy: _i’m just excited :D_

Annie: _That’s amazing, Troy! :)_

Troy: _wanna know something weird?_

Troy: _i already had his number for some reason?_

Troy: _and so did he?_

Annie: _Maybe you guys have mutual friends._

Annie: _I have waaay too many people’s numbers. I don’t even know half of them._

Troy: _lol yeah_

Troy: _do we know somebody called abed tho??_

#

Britta meets Annie at the bookstore, as she’d been asked to. She’s slightly concerned at how tired and tense Annie looks.

“You look like you haven’t slept all night,” she remarks.

“I haven’t,” Annie admits. “Troy knows.”

Britta shoots her a confused look. “Knows what?”

“About _it_!”

“About _what_?”

“About Abed!” Annie retorts.

Britta nearly chokes on nothing. “Like, all of it? The… procedures and everything?”

“I don’t think he knows everything, but apparently him and Abed are, like, together!” Annie’s voice gets higher with every sentence. “They exchanged numbers!”

“Again?”

“ _AGAIN_!”

Britta shrugs. “Well, what can we do?”

“BRITTA! this is bad. This is _very_ , very bad. Do you know what this could do to them, their brains-“

Troy, who was behind them the entire time, feels like he’s about to throw up.

“What do you mean procedures?”

Annie flinches. “Troy—“

“What. Do. You. Mean. Procedures?” Troy sneers, his voice getting angrier with every word.

Britta puts a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You weren’t supposed to find out.”

“Well, I did anyway! What the fuck are you guys talking about, how do you guys know Abed, what the _fuck_.”

Annie takes a deep breath, and starts explaining.

#

“I already know Jeff.”

“Abed.” Jeff nods at him. “I see everything is out in the open, once again.”

“I feel like I’m in that film with Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet.”

“I haven’t seen that one yet,” Troy says as he holds Abed’s hand.

“We can watch it together,” Abed offers. “At my apartment, since you’ve already been there before.”

Jeff rolls his eyes at the two of them. “If you guys are going to get married, please do me a favour and just send me a video recording of it because I’ve already seen you both do this before. And it still isn’t fun.”

“Wait, I’ve watched this film before? I thought that the procedure only, um, _erased_ Abed.” Troy was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that they not only left each other, but also erased the memories they had.

“No, numb-nut, I’ve seen the both of you fall in love before. And it’s really annoying for the rest of us. So just dial it down.” Jeff retorts. Annie shoots him a look. “I’m kidding, obviously, we’re all-“ Jeff looks at Annie specifically “- _very_ happy for you guys.” Annie beams.

#

“Do you regret that we met again.” Troy says, but it isn’t a question. “Because I don’t.”

“I don’t either,” Abed responds.

“I still don’t remember why I was leaving.”

“I regret erasing you. Us. Annie keeps telling me stories about the things we’d do and…”

“I know, Abed,” Troy says, sadly. “But we have _now_.”

Abed gently kisses Troy, _his_ Troy, and for once, doesn’t think about what could’ve happened: he thinks about what did.

**Author's Note:**

> this idea just came in my head out of nowhere and i just HAD to write it, i'm sorry it's a little messy. still hope y'all like it anyway! kudos + comments are always appreciated <3


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